The present invention relates to fluorescent lamp fixtures, and more particularly to a fluorescent lamp fixture having a reflector in place of at least one of the fluorescent lamps.
Fluorescent lamp fixtures are extensively used for lighting work areas in offices, factories and residences. One common type of fluorescent lamp fixture includes four fluorescent lamps mounted within a housing recessed to fit in a suspended ceiling and enclosed by an acrylic or polystyrene lens. Such fixtures, however, are manufactured in different sizes with a variety of different lenses, lamps and control ballasts available.
As a result of the ever increasing cost of electricity, users of fluorescent lighting have sought various means to reduce energy costs by decreasing electrical energy consumption. The easiest and most economical method of reducing electrical usage with fluorescent lighting is to delamp the fixture by removing two of the four fluorescent lamps. The energy reduction is 50%, but the light levels are also reduced 50%. In most cases this reduction is too drastic. Additionally, the psychological impact on people of removing two lamps contributes to the ineffectiveness of this method of decreasing costs. In other words, when people see a fixture without two lamps, they don't think they have enough light regardless of what the actual light levels may be.
Another mechanism for reducing the electrical energy consumption of fluorescent light fixtures is to delamp the fixture by removing two of the lamps from the fixture and replacing the removed lamps with a reflector assembly. An example of converting a four lamp fixture to a two lamp fixture can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,275. In this patent, two of the four lamps are replaced by reflectors having concave-convex shapes that are mounted within the lamps holders in the positions of the lamps that were removed from the fixture.
Another means for converting a four lamp fluorescent fixture to a two lamp fluorescent fixture is to completely redesign the housing of the fixture. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,576 the standard fixture housing is replaced by a pair of concave housings which reflect light downwardly from each of the remaining fluorescent lamps. This type of conversion, however, requires replacement of the entire fixture and thus may be employed only with newly constructed facilities and is not readily adaptable for retrofitting fixtures already in use.